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Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said Monday that Game 1 was a warning sign, not a verdict, as the team prepares for Tuesday night’s Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.
“I told them this morning I was so excited for them and for us,” Rajakovic said. “This is amazing for us. There is so much to learn.”
The Cavs lead the series 1-0 after a 126-113 win, and Rajakovic pointed to the biggest issues immediately: pace, turnovers, transition defense and second-chance points.
“We allowed 126 points. Our defense was not good,” he said. “We were minus seven in possession. It was not one thing.”
Rajakovic said Toronto has already spent significant time on the film from Game 1, with more adjustments coming before tipoff. “From the moment the game finished, coaches, myself, everybody, we watched a bunch of film,” he said. “We created a good edit for us.”
One of the main themes was getting Brandon Ingram more involved. Rajakovic said Cleveland’s coverage was designed to make life difficult for Toronto’s top option and the Raptors need to counter that with better structure.
“I think that they were really focused their schemes, what they were doing against Brandon,” he said. “We got to do a good job of balancing out to find Brandon more to get some better screens for him to free him up.”
He also said Ingram has to stay engaged even when the defense takes away his first touches. “He needs to be more engaged,” Rajakovic said. “We have a couple of solutions for that.”
Rajakovic pushed back on the idea that Toronto’s problems came from only one area. “It was not one thing,” he said. “It’s learning for us that when things start going not our way instead of thinking like how can I help myself over here how I can help my team.”
The Raptors coach also stressed the value of the moment for Toronto’s younger players, including rookie Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walter. “This one game that we played in the playoffs is equivalent of 15 or 20 games of regular season,” he said. “This is really really beneficial for us.”
Immanuel Quickley remains the key injury watch for Toronto, listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain. Rajakovic said, “I did not see him. Yesterday we played the game. So he’s now in practice. We’re going to see how much he can do today and we’ll go from there.”
Toronto enters Game 2 knowing Cleveland will be ready for adjustments, and Rajakovic said the response has to start with discipline. “We’re going to try to get better,” he said. “But definitely we got to involve Brandon much more in our offense and we have a plan to do so.”
